Plug-switch.



- "U TED STATES PATENT JOHN H. KLIEGL, or NEW YORK, NjY.

Application filed Ju1y'22, 1907. Serial No. 384,853.

To all whom it may cancer/ft: i

Be it known that 1, JOHN H. KLIEGL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York,'in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new andluseful Improvements in Plug-,Sw itches, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the drawing accompanying and forming part of the same.

My invention relates to plug-switches or cut-out plugs, carrying one ormore contacts adapted to make electrical connection with a corresponding contact or contacts carried by a device into which the plug is inserted. The contacts of a plug of the kind referred to are electrically connected with' the plug with the head or-top portion of the the terminals of the electrical conductors through which a' circuit is to be established.

One object of the invention is to provide a plug in which .the insulation at the ends of the conductors shall beeflectively protected, so as to prevent raveling, undue wear, or other injury thereto. t

Another object is to provide a plug in which the connections of the conductors and plug contacts shall berelievd of substantially all strain, such, for example as might otherwise be exerted on su'ch connections when the conductors are grasped and pulled to withdraw the plug from the device into which it had been ,inserted.-

A still further object is to providea plug of this character which shall be simple and compact, and capable of being easily and quickly attached to'its conductors.

The invention itself, which consists in the novel features andcombinations hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the claims, will be more readily understood from a description of its preferred form. The latter is illustrated in the annexed drawing, and is designed especially for use with the cut-out box described in the prior patentof. Anton T. Kliegl. and myself,- No.

7 82,857 dated February 21, 1905.

- In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view attached to acable containing plug in section. modification.

The body,-1, and the-head or top, 2, of the plug are of insulating material andare prefa erably integra-l'with each other and of rectangular cross section, as shown. In the top or head is an aperture or socket 3 large Fig. 3 is an edge view of a Specification of Letters Patent.

rLue-sw rrcrr.

Patented July 5, 1910.

enough to receive the end of the conductor to which the plug is to be attached, in the present instance a cable, 4, containing two conductors, 5, 6. The insulation of the cable at the end thereof is thus inclosed in the top of the plug and so protected from raveling or other injury.

Extending downwardly and laterally from the aperture or socket 3 are two passages, 7, 8, opening preferably at the shoulders at the base of the top or head portion, adjacent to the upper ends of the contacts 9 and 10" mounted on the body 1. Through these passages extend the conductors 5 and 6, as shown, to permit of their being connected to the contacts 9, 10. For .the purpose of connecting the conductors to these contacts Iprefer to employ terminal members, for example of the type illustrated, each comprising a socketed portion 11, in which the end of the conductor is secured, as by soldering, and a flat portion 12. The. latter portions of the terminal members are bound to the upper ends of the contacts 9, 10, by suitable binding screws 13, 11. As shown, the passages 7, 8, are made large enouglrto permit the terminal members to be passed down through them from the aperture or socket 3, so that tlie terminal members may be attached to their conductors first, and thelatter then inserted in the plug, as illustrated. l i i For the purpose of binding the cable firmly in the socket 3 the upper portion of the head of the plug is cut away, to a depth suflicient to expose the cable in'the socket;

and on this cut away portion is a plate 15,

preferably provided with teeth. or ribs 16 where it engages the cable. The plate is then brought down firmly on the cable by means of screws 17, extending through the plug. The screw'hole's in the plug are preferably countersunk to receive the screw heads, as indicated in dotted lines at 18 in Fig. 2.- This binding plate, part1cu larly when provided with ribs or teeth, as shown, binds the cable securely inits socket, thus eflectively preventing any pull or other strain on the cable from being commumcated to the connections of the' conductors 5, 6, with the contacts 9, 10.

In order to locate the heads of the screws 13, 14, well below the surfaces of the contacts 9, 10, the body of the plug 1s constructed at p the point where it joins the head, as shown.

ra ion.

This construction permits the body of the 20 and a bolt 23,

40 tact plug to be inserted full length into the device with which the plug is to be used, for example a socket of the cut-out box illus trated in the prior patentbefore referred to,

5 so that the shoulders at the base of the head portion will abut against the end of the socket and the terminal members of the con-' ductors, 5, 6, the screws, 13,14 and other parts associated'with the body of the plug will be entirely inclosed when the plug is in use.

The contacts 9, 10, are strips of metal secured to the edges of the body' of the plug. The contact 9 is in two parts, one, indicated by 19, being bent to conform. to the con tracted portion of the body. and secured thereto b Y a screw entering from the opposite edge. The other part of contact 9 p is a spring strip '21, secured to the lower portion of the part 19 by a short screw 22, the-nutof which latter is let into the plug from the opposite edge as shown. The part 21 is pressed outward by a, coil spring 24 in an opening in the body, and to limit the outward movement of the 25 part its lower end 25 is bent over the end of the plug and is provided with a slot 26 through which extends a stop-screw 27. The other contact 10, is secured on the plug by screws 28 29, extending from apertures in 30 the opposite edges, a-nda screw 30 extending from an aperture in the bottom of the 0 ening which holds the spring 24. Each of the apertures for the screws 28, 29, 30, and for the nut of bolt 23, is; after its screw or bolt is inserted, filled with insulating material, preferably in ,the nature of a cement, capable of hardening. The fastening devices 28, 29, 30 of the contact 10 are thus effectively concealed and are inaccessible, making the con- .body. The fastening devices of the spring port-ion of the other, contact, however, are readily removable, thus permitting replacement of the contact andalso the spring 24' if i these parts should be dama ed.

I ted lines'at 32. In this construction the head of the plug must of course be made of material sufficiently flexible to prevent breakage under the strain produced by the binding screws.

As before stated, the plugs herein specifically described are merely the preferred. embodiments of the invention, which may to receive a conductor cable and having pas- 'cptacle by practically a.permanent part of the ahead 'tor socket and branch be embodied in various other specific forms withoutdeparture from its roper scope as defined by the following claims. 3' 65. What I claim is: 1. A plug switch comprising a headand a a body portion, the former having a socket sages branching from the-bottom of said socket to receive the conductors composing the cable; contacts on opposite .sidesof the body portion and extending adjacent to the said branch passages; means for connecting conductors in said passages to the contacts; a binding plate extending across one side of the'socket and adapted to engage the side of the cable therein to secure the same in the socket; said binding plate enabling the Iplug to be withdrawn from its receptacle y pulling on the cable without transmitting the stressto, the connections of the conductors and" contacts. i

2. Ina plug switch, a' body having in its I end a socket to receive antinsulated' cable, said socket having an open side, a releasable binding plate extending across said open "side of the socket to" engage the insulated end of the cable andbind the same firmly in the socket, and contacts mounted on said body, for electrical connection with the conduct'ors composing the cable; whereby the maybe withdrawn fromv its repulling on the" cable without transmitting the stress to theconnections of the conductors and contacts.

3. In a plug switch, a body portion, a conplug switch tact on one SldG of the same, fastening devices extending through the body from the opposite side and enga ing'the said contact to secure the same rigld yin position,a flexi ble contact mounted on said opposite side and concealing the said fastening devices, I detachable fastening devices rigidly securing'one end of the flexible contact to the body portion, and a spring mounted in the body portion and'engaging said flexible con tact at thefree end thereof to hold the same yieldingly outward from the body portion. 4. In a plug switch, a body portion, and

portion, the latter having a conducpassages leading therefrom. and opening adjacent the body portion, removable contacts on opposite sides ofsaidbody portion, terminals resting on the contacts-and located adjacent the openingsof said passages, and fastening devices projected through the terminals and contacts and engaging the body portion to se cure the same in position thereon.

JOHN H. KLIEGL.

IVitnesses:

' S. S. DUNHAM, A. ,E. MAHAN. 

